Wine is know to have existed in one form or another at the very least for over 8000 years. The basic recipe is very simple. Crush loads of grapes, trap the liquid away from the atmosphere, let the natural yeast do it's thing, drink. OK in that form it might be an acquired taste. But with a little more care and simple filtration a perfect palatable wine is not difficult to make.

However as with so many simple but good things, over the last century or so we have felt obliged to improve on nature. High volume, low cost and very long shelf lives have clearly been a driving force. Doubtlessly increased profit margins play a significant role also.

So without falling into the scare tactics sort of article style what is in your bottle of commercially produced wine which shouldn't have a place there and which you're probably not aware about?

According to The Organic Wine Club "Conventional wines are sterile, filtered and, frankly speaking, chemically neutered. Life literally has been squeezed out of them. They are full of residual pesticides and injected with high levels of sulphites to make them taste the same, prolong the shelf life and mask the flaws. Have you noticed that there is no contents information on the wine label? This is because there are dozens of additives allowed in its production: sugars, sulphites, preservatives, colour and flavour adjustment agents and more. They trigger allergic reactions, headaches and other ill effects.”

Living with an asthmatic, as I do, the most immediate concern here are the Sulphites. Although they do have to be indicated on the label unless you've had an Asthma attach induced by them you've probably never really paid them a great deal of thought. Also although I'm not an insect, I'm personally not keen on consuming or indeed drinking something which is intentionally designed to kill!

We've partnered with he Organic Wine Club to bring you some outstanding wines made how they were intended. We hope you enjoy them. Have a glass on us! (Literally we're not making anything out of this. You get the savings as the customer

So we had Stoptober and now we are confronted by Dry January. As an industry – you might not like to think of us as that, but we are professionals just like you. We don't actually want to see you suckered by social trends which are mutually damaging.

So what is the point? Stoptober piggybacked on Dry January which originated in 1984 to demonstrate that a break from heavy drinking for a month wouldn't do anybody any harm. A fair point, will made. Stoptomber like many Internet trends pretended to be a charitable effort, for Prostrate Cancer, or Ear Lobe Cancer, Big Toe Cancer, or whatever. Let's raise awareness.... Well folks we have News for you....

Dry January....Unless you have a serious addiction problem, giving up for a month will do nothing more than massage your ego. If you do actually have a serious addiction issue then you'll not be able to complete the first week unaided. So no win for you.

Who wins? Well it's certainly not the charities that people peddle on social media. But there are winners. You know those sights you visit to register how much you've saved? You see all those adverts, now think about it? Do a domain name registration search (http://www.lcn.co.uk will do it for free for you) Oh look, registered address a PO box in Algeria? Odd that....

Who looses? We you know that nice bloke at the local boozer, or the bar team in the city centre bar or nightclub who know your name. That chap at the restaurant you used to drop in at on a Friday night? Your mate who drives for the brewery? Your brother in law who works making the Aluminium barrels? These are the people who's lives and welfare your gullibility is putting at risk.

Grow a mind, use Google if you will, but don't cause harm to an industry which is already beleaguered for the sake of your ego. You know the phrase?

Use it or loose it? It applies to the local as much as anything else. You'll be the first up in arms when there's a new housing estate built where The Stinking Badgers Arms used to be....

Sometimes is the simplest things you miss. A nice hot pasty on a cold day is a real homeless treat and you don't need to be all chefy to make them!

Ingredients:-

225g Gluten Free Multi purpose White flour

110g butter (soft)

1 medium beaten egg

1 tbsp cold water

beaten egg for brushing

Filling

1 medium potato, peeled and cut into ½ cm cubes

1 medium carrot, washed and cut into ½ cm cubes

1 onion peeled and finely chopped

Swede, peeled and cut into ½ cubes

250g lean braising steak, cut into ½ cm cubes

salt and pepper to season

Finishing

A beaten egg for brushing

A little extra GF flour for rolling out pastry

Method:-

Pastry

1. Place half the measured mix in a medium size mixing bowl with the other pastry ingredients.

2. Mix to a smooth paste using a fork. Add remaining mix and work together first using a fork and then by hand to bring together into a ball.

3. Knead on a work surface lightly dusted with a little more GF flour until completely smooth. Cling film and chill the pastry for 20 minutes. Knead again before rolling. Divide pastry into 6 equal pieces.

Filling

1. Preheat the oven 180C/160CFan / Gas Mark 4.

2. Dust the surface with GF flour and roll each piece into a circle approximately 14/15cm.

3. Divide the ingredients into 6, arrange the potato and swede along the centre of a pastry circle, season and top with the steak and carrot and onion, season again.

4. Lightly brush the outside edge of the pastry with egg then carefully bring up the edges to the centre to cover the filling.

5. Pinch or crimp between the forefinger and thumb of one hand and forefinger of the other to create a sealed crest over the top of the pastry. Repeat with the other pastry circles, place on a baking sheet.

New Year's Day calls for something just a bit special. This could be just that!

Ingredients:-

1 large head garlic

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups packed flat-leaf parsley leaves (from 1 large bunch)

1/4 cup packed fresh sage leaves

1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 boneless rib-eye roast (4 to 5 pounds)

Method:-

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a serrated knife, slice off top quarter of garlic, exposing as many cloves as possible. Place garlic, cut-side up, on a piece of parchment-lined foil. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil, wrap tightly, and roast until cloves are tender, about 40 minutes. Let stand until cool enough to handle.

2. Squeeze garlic to push out cloves; transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Add parsley, sage, vinegar, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Arrange roast on a large cutting board, fat-side down, with short end toward you. Holding a long, sharp knife parallel to (and about 1 inch above) cutting board, make a shallow cut along length of roast, stopping about 1 inch from edge. Open roast to the side, and continue slicing until about 1 inch from next edge. Open to same side again, and continue slicing until roast is completely flat. Season meat all over with salt and pepper. Spread all but 2 tablespoons of garlic-herb mixture over meat. Roll meat up, starting from left side. (Fat cap should end up on top of roast.) Tie at 2-inch intervals with kitchen twine. Rub outside with remaining garlic-herb mixture. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour (or refrigerate, covered with plastic, overnight; bring to room temperature before cooking).

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place meat on a rack in a roasting pan and roast, rotating pan once, until meat is golden brown, 40 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and continue roasting until a thermometer inserted in thickest part reads 125 degrees, 50 to 60 minutes. Let rest at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Beignets originated in France and are most probably the predecessor of our Dough Nuts. But they've done a bit of travelling and evolving over time.

Around 1763 the new French settlement in the New Orleans area was founded and understandably the settlers took with them tastes of home and recipes. 200+ years is quite some time for a recipe to adapt and be adapted and The New Orleans Beignet is arguably a great deal better than it's ancestors. But you don't need to visit the Mississippi delta area to enjoy them. You can make them with ease at home right here in Yorkshire!

Don't believe me? Here is the recipe:-

Ingredients:-

Serves: 10

2 1/4 teaspoons dried active baking yeast

375ml warm water (45 degrees C)

100g caster sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

250ml evaporated milk

875g 7 cups all-purpose flour

55g butter or margarine

1L vegetable oil for frying

4 tablespoons icing sugar

Method:-

1 In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt, eggs, evaporated milk and blend well. Mix in 500g of the flour and beat until smooth. Add the butter or margarine, and then the remaining flour. Cover and chill for up to 24 hours.